Printing-machine.



PATENTED DEC. 4, 1906.

L. A. SCHMIDT.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APYLIGATION FILED FEB. 16. 1908. I

No. 837,345. PATENTED DEC. 4, 1906.

L. A. SCHMIDT. PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.1G.1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET? rrnn STAES PATENT QFFIGE.

LOUIS A. SCHMKDT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR 'lO- ROBERT HOE, OF

' NEW YORK, N. Y.

PRINTING-MACHINE.

. T all whom, It 7771/1/11] concern:

- citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Printin -Machines, fully described and represente in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to improvements in printing-machines.

In the construction of modern printing machinery, and particularly in the construction of rotary machines having long cylinders which are adapted to carry lates or sets of plates arran ed side by sir e, it has been found GXCQfiLiDgiY advantageous to stagger the plates and to provide the impression-cylinders 'Witll correspondiugly-staggered blanket -openin s, this construction preventing jumping or nnocking of the cylinders, for the I reason that with staggered plates and 0 ,en-

' ings some part of the unbroken surface of the printin -cylinder or the plates carried therey is ahvays-running in contact with some unbroken partof the impression-cylinder or ythe'blanket carried-thereby. The amount of stagger ordinarily given the plates was from s x to eight inches, this being sufficient to prevent the 3umping or knocking which i was liable to occur when the leading ends of the plates were in register and arrived at gap or opening extending entirely across the cylinder.

The requirements of modern printing machinery have rendered it desirable to employ in printing machines one or more couples,

the direction of rotation of which can be reversed, so that the material to be printed can be passed. betweenthe cylinders in oppo- The construction of a printin couple of the staggered type above referred to presented, however, considerable difficulty when such a couple was to be reversed, for the reason that the impressions from what may be termed the leading side of a staggered cylinder when the cylinder was running in one direo tion became the rear im ression when the cylinder was running in t e opposite direction by an amountequal to double the amount of stagger. iifhen, therefore, a staggered Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed February 16,1906. Serial No. 301.389.

Patented Dec. 4, 1906.

couple was embodied together with other couples in a printing-machine, it became necessary to introduce special slitting mechanism into the machine and also to use compen: satim mechanism to increase or retard the length of travel of one or both portions of the.

web when one of the couples wasv reversed in order to bring the impressions of the sev' eral couples into proper relation to each other.

The difliculties in the way of employing staggered couples in the manner-referred to led to the production of a printing-con 1e havin two impression-cylinders provided with iflerently-staggered blanket-openin s, one of these cylinders cooperating with t 1e printing-eyliiu er when that cylinder was running in one direction and the other coopcrating with the cylinder when it was running in the opposite direction, the form-cylinder being also arranged so that the stagger could be shifted-i. 0., so that the plates on either side of the cylinder could run in the lead, according as the cylinder rotated in one direction or the other. While this form of couple has been'used to a considerable extent, it is expensive in that. it requires the int-roductioninto the machine of an additional cylinder and the necessary mechanism for operating it. Further, thls type of couple required a special construction of certain of the plate-holding devices, such as marginbars, so as to enable the position of the plates to be shifted when the direction of rotation of the cylinder was reversed.

The use of impression-cylinders constructed in two parts,one of the parts being rotatable axially with relation to the other, so that the position of the blanket-openings could be shifted when the couple was reversed, has

also been suggested. The construction of a sim 1e and effective construction of re-' versib ecouple for use in printin -machines,

saidcouple consisting of two cy 'nde'rs, the

an'angementfbeing such no, adjustment of one part of the impressiomcylinder with respect to the other part is necessary when the couple is reversed and the necessity for em loying shiftable plate-retainingdevices is one away with.

With this and other objects in view the in yention consists in certain constructions and in certain parts, improvements, and combinations, as will be hereinafter fully described and then specifically pointed out.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 repre sents diagrammatically two setsof printing and perfecting couples arranged to deliver pr nted webs to a folder, one of the couples eing a reversible couple. Fig. 2 represents the couples illustrated in Fig. 1 as printing upon a single web to produce color impressions, the direction of rotation of one ofthe couples being changed. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view illustrating the construction of one of the couples. Fig. 4 is an end view of the construction illustrated in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, a simple form of printing mechanism has been selected for the purpose of illustrating the invention,

' this mechanism embodying an upper deck of double-wide couples, the printing or form cylinders of these upper couples being indicated at 1 2 and the impression-cylinders at 3 4. These couples, as illustrated in Fig. -1, print and perfect a double-wide web, the web being delivered by proper guides to a longitudinalfolder of ordinary construction, (indicated at 5.) The lower deck of double-wide couples includes two cylinders 6 7, having in cooperation therewith impression-cylinders 8 and 9, respectively. The lower deck of couples is, as shown in Fig. 1, also arranged to print, and erfect a double-wide web, this we being elivered to the longitudinal folder 5 and being there associated and folded with the web printed and perfected by the ripper deck of couples. All the couples are 0 as illustrated, is reversiblethat is, it is capacitated to be run in either direction.

In Fig. 2 the web printed by the upper deck of couples has been out out and the web from the lower deck is shown as being printed and perfected by the couples 7 9 6 8, the couples 1 3 2 4 being employed to print additional colors on the web, the direction of r0- tation of the couple 1 3 being, as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2, reversed.-

It will be understood that in the ordinary machine employing staggered couples if the several coup es are so arranged with relation to each other that the impressions produced on the webs come into roper register when the machine is arranged as in Fig. 1 the impressions produced by the couple corresponding to the couple 1 3, unless special provision be made therefor, will not fall in their proper places on the web with relation the staggered type, and the couple 1 3,

to the impressions produced by'the other couples, for the reason that withthe ordi-.

nary staggered couples, as'has been ointed out, the impressions produced by the eading set of plates, and which are therefore the leading impressions when the machine is arranged as in Fig. 1, become the rear impressions when the machine is arranged as in Fig. 2 by an amount equal to twice the stagger, this resulting, of course, from the stag gering of the plates.

For the purpose of illustrating thisinven' lates, two sets on each side. l

the ordinary mode of staggering plates on a cylinder the amount of the staggerthat is, the amount by which the leadin end of one set of plates was in advance of t e adjacent setbore no relation whatever to the length, circumferentially considered, of the plate,

but was an arbitrarily selected distance. Under ordinary circumstances the aniount of the stagger was determined solely with the idea .of insuring thatthe leading end the leading set of plates passed the openingin the blanket-cylinder and was in contact with the unbroken portion thereof before the'leading end of the adjacent set of plates reached the opening in the blanketscylinder. As has been before pointed out, the amount of stagger ordinarily given the plates was from six to.

eight inches, this being suflicient to prevent the jumping or knocking which was liable to occur w en the leading ends of the plates were in register and arrived at a gap or opening extending entirely across the cylinder.

According to the present invention the amount of stagger bears a determined relation to what may be termed the form-surface. The term -form'surface as herein used is meant to include not only thelength of the form,but the circumferential extent of the cylinder which is devoted to the estab lishment of a margin between the head and tail of a form, rovided the form extends entirely around 1; e cylinder or the tail of one form and the head of asiicceeding form where two or more forms follow each other around the cylinder. The amount of stagger given the forms according to the present invention is one-half the circumferential len th of a forn1-surface-that is. to say, onealf the length of the form proper plus one-half the length of the means by.which the margins referred. to are established. Referring to Fig. 3 and assuming that the plates 10 are leading with respect to the plates 12, which are adjacent to them, and the plates 11 with respect to the plates 13, the plates 10 sreloceted in advance oi the plates 12 a distance equal to one-half the length of the plates 12 plus one-half the width of the openings 1d 'usuul straining and controlling devices 22,

located inside the cylinder. These blanketopenings 19 and 2,1 are staggered to correspond with tne stagger of the forms on the cylinder l-thct',is to say, they are staggered by an amount equal to one-half o torrnsurface as the same has been previously defined in the specification.

Referring to the particular construction illust; d, it will be seen that with the moclline arranged as in Fig. 1, and assuming the forms l0 11 on The cylinder 1 to be the leading forms and the corresponding forms on the cylinders of the other couples to be also the lending forms, the impressions on both webs will full in proper relation or re ister to each other, so that when the webs ure ed over the former, it being understood that this former is, as is usual, double wide, and the usual slitter, (not shown) employed, two eight-page papers will be produced, with the pages produced by the sets of forms in proper register.

Fig. 2 shows an arrangement of the seine machine in which instead of perfecti g two webs it single web is printed and perfected in three colors. in. order to effect tins, the cylinders 1 3 have the direction of rotation re versed, indicated by the .arrows in Fig. 2. The web after being printed on the cylinders 7 9 and 6 S isled to the cylinders 1 3. With the cylinders running in this direction the forms 10 11, which were before the leading forms, are now the rear forms, but they are in the reruby exectlythe. some amount they I forms that they did when the cylinders were turning in the opposite direction. In other words, because the lead of the plates on one side of the cylinder is always equal to onehalf the form-surface, as this term has been defined in this specification, the impressions produced by the forms 10 11 on the cylinder which happens to be reversed will always fsllin proper register with the impressions y the-forms 10 11 on the other cyligdersend also in proper relation to the other forms on the other cylinders. it will be seen, therefore, that the necessity of employing in such cases the additional impression-cylinder heretofore usually employed and changing the stagger of the form-cylinder to corrcs ond therewith is entirely done away with.

While the machine selected to illustrate the invention employs on each cylinder two sets of plates arranged side by side, it is obvious that the number of plates employed may be varied, the results being the same no matter what-the number of plates is.

VVlurt is claim ed is i 1. The combinutionwithsprinting-con 1c, of a second rotary couple, the cylin ers whereof may be run in either direction, the printing-cylinder of said couple being provided with devices for retaining forms thereon side by side, said devices being arranged so that adjacent fornnsurteces on said cylinder may be staggered by an amount equal to onediall? the circumferential length of a formproduced surface, whereby the couple may be run in either direction without changing the position of the retaining devices.

The combination with a rotary rinting couple, of a second rotary couple, t ie cylinders whereof may be run in either direction, the printing-cylinders of the couples being provided with devices for retaining forms thereon side by side, said devices being arranged so that adjacent form-surfaces may be staggered by on amount equal to one-half the circun'rfercntial length of o. form-surface, and the impression-cylinder being provided with blankets arranged side by side, the blunket-openings being staggered by an amount equal to one-half the circumferential length of it fo1'msurfuce.

3. The combination with aprinting'couple, of a second rotary print-ingcouplc, the cylinders whereof may be run in either direction, the printingcylinder of said couple being provided with a plurality of forms arrange side by side, adjacent forms being staggered by an amount e ual to one-half the clrcumfercnt-ia-l length 0 e form-surface.

The combination with e. printingcouple, of a second rotary printing-couple, the cylinders whereof may run in either direction, the printing-cylinder of said couple being provided with a plurality of forms arranged side by side, adj scent forms being staggered by an amount equal to one-half the circumferential ICO '5. The combination With a printing-cylinf In testimony whereof I have hereunto set dei' constructed to carry staggered forms army hand in the presence of tWo subscribing ranged side by side, of an impression-cylinder witnesses. providedwithblanket-openingssaid openings LOUIS A. SCHMIDT.

5 being staggered by an amount equal to onei Witnesses:

half the circumferential length of a fonn-sur- F. W. H. CRANE, face. I LOUIS ROEHM. 

